THE WASHING OF DISHES
Miss Downing says: “I have found in my teaching that only the pupils who do not know how to wash them properly dislike the washing of dishes. When I hear a young lady say, ‘I hate to wash dishes,’ I know she is not a trained worker and does not know the best ways of doing things.”
Before you begin to wash at all, arrange a good dry place to put your dishes when they are dry. Arrange so that you have room enough without letting clean dishes touch soiled ones or being obliged to put dry dishes on a wet spot. Begin with the glass and see that every glass is emptied before you begin to wash. Cold water in one, some milk in another, claret in another, will soon make your dish water unfit to wash anything in. After the glass, take the delicate china cups and saucers, dessert plates, etc.
Put your mind on your work. See carefully each piece before it leaves your hand that it is clean and dry. By the time the glass and fine china are washed, the water will be chilled, so either throw it out and make a fresh suds for the silver or put it on the stove to reheat, while putting the clean dishes away. When your silver is dry, put it away. Do not let it lie where it will be spattered from the washing of the next things.
Now use your own judgement and see whether the water is clean enough and hot enough for the dishes. Never put many dishes to wash in at one time. Put dishes of one kind in at one time and dishes of another kind in at another time.
There is economy in the washing of dishes, as well as in everything else, and my experience has been that the best way of doing it is to make a hot suds in one pan, have a second pan half filled with very hot water and as the dish is washed in the suds, put it right through the hot water, thus making sure that every part is rinsed, then allow to drain on the draining board, or in another pan. By the time a panful of dishes are washed,
rinsed and drained, they are still hot enough to wipe and you will not need more than one or two towels. In making the suds, be careful that it is not too strong, as too much soap quickly takes off color and gilding from the fine china, and never leave the soap lying in the water. Then you can work rapidly. Change the water when it is necessary.
Never, on any account, leave the dishes lying in the water while you go to attend to something elsewhere. To do so injuries the gilding and coloring. Remember if you are quick, you can do a great deal before the water cools and you will have to change it only when it is soiled. There is good reason for washing dishes of one kind together, aside from the question of cracking and wiping. When they are washed and dry, they are ready to put away without further sorting.
Silver trays used at each meal should be washed after each meal, just as regularly as a bread plate or crumb tray, because you cannot serve a meal without leaving soiled spots and finger marks.
Watch the inside of your pitchers. Sediment from boiling water may be easily removed the first day. After that, twice the time at least will be needed to make them clean. If clear water or hot soap suds will not do it, use a little sapolio.
When your dishes and silver are all finished, cleanse your steel knives. Never let the handles touch the water. Hold them in your left hand and wash the blades with your right. After they are washed, scour the blades with bath-brick or on an emery board. Let the blade rest flat upon your board. This prevents bending and the loosening the handles. Once every week your silver should be thoroughly polished and in between times can be kept clean with a chamois cloth.
A soft brush is required for cleaning cut glass. A clean towel should be spread on a tray and each piece should be placed on this as it is wiped. This precaution is especially necessary for dishes that are deeply cut on the bottom, for if placed on a polished surface, the moisture produces a white mark. Fine sawdust is a good thing for cut glass. After wiping it bury it in sawdust for an hour or more, or brush off with a soft brush. The sawdust should come from a non-resinous wood such as basswood or box. Dry after using.
Originally published by the Phelps Publishing Company in 1903
Arranged by Isabel Gordon Curtis, Associate Editor of Good Housekeeping
(As read by Dean Temple for the January 5, 2006 podcast)